Off-line cash dispenser and banking system

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for automatically dispensing cash and performing other transactions relating to customer accounts. A magnetic card reader reads coded information into the system from a credit card which information identifies the account of the user. A keyboard entered code is compared with the card encoded information to verify that the account is that of an authorized user. The system includes a disc storage file which is checked for the account numbers of stolen cards and of accounts with respect to which transactions are to be restricted or otherwise modified. The file also includes a list of the images of cards read in the most recent past transactions and against these images the inserted card is checked for detection of duplicate cards. The system is capable of performing different types of transactions involving plural accounts of each user. A control code on each card enables the selection of only those machine functions which the user is authorized to select. Each card includes a renewable credit limit which is restorable after a given usage interval. The cards are encoded with the maximum amount of cash dispensible per given usage interval, the length of the usage interval, the next usage date, and the amount remaining during the current usage interval.

2517319 MTRiS Voss et al.

[ OFF-LINE CASH DISPENSER AND BANKING SYSTEM [75] Inventors: Robert H.Voss, Goshen; Earl M.

Ward, Hamilton; William L. Spetz, Cincinnati, all of Ohio [73] Assignee:The Mosler Safe Company,

Hamilton, Ohio [22] Filed: Sept. 1, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 285,812

52 Us. C1. 235/61.7 B, 340/149 A [51] Int. Cl. G06k 5/00 [58] Field ofSearch 235/617 B, 61.7 R; 340/149 A, 149

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,039,532 6/1962 Simjian...235/617 B 3,308,439 3/1967 Tink et a1.. 235/61] B 3,564,210 2/1971Presti 235/61.7 B 3,610,889 10/1971 Goldman 340/149 A 3,648,020 3/1972Tateisi et al 235/61.7 B 3,657,521 4/1972 Constable 235/61.7 B 3,662,3435/1972 Goldstein et al..... 235/61.7 B 3,697,729 10/1972 Edwards et al235/61.7 B 3,705,384 12/1972 Wahlberg 235/6l.7 B 3,719,927 3/1973Michels et al 235/6l.7 B

Primary Examiner-Daryl W. Cook Attorney, Agent, or Firm--Wood, Herron &Evans [5 7] ABSTRACT A method and apparatus for automatically dispensingcash and performing other transactions relating to customer accounts. Amagnetic card reader reads coded information into the system from acredit card which information identifies the account of the user. Akeyboard entered code is compared with the card encoded information toverify that the account is that of an authorized user. The systemincludes a disc storage file which is checked for the account numbers ofstolen cards and of accounts with respect to which transactions are tobe restricted or otherwise modified. The file also includes a list ofthe images of cards read in the most recent past transactions andagainst these images the inserted card is checked for detection ofduplicate cards. The system is capable of performing different types oftransactions involving plural accounts of each user. A control code oneach card enables the selection of only those machine functions whichthe user is authorized to select. Each card includes a renewable creditlimit which is restorable after a given usage interval. The cards areencoded with the maximum amount of cash dispensible per given usageinterval, the length of the usage interval, the next usage date, and theamount remaining during the current usage interval.

40 Claims, 16 Drawing Figures f. IAII NI II III m Y I DQ845277 SHEET 010F 12 LINE CREDIT INFORMATION ON C RDf I I I USAGE "DOLLAR MT, .NEXT DAYUSAGE INTERVAL A AMT. REMAINING I00 I; I82 Iva 7 50 11 FIXED DATA vV-VVAYRIABLE L FIXED A VARIABLE RENEWABLE CREDIT CARD LIMIT OF sIoo VERY7 DAYS I 1 I. I. CONTROL CODE LIMIT 7' INTERVAL v l I M2 MACHINE DN RDL'FROM CODE "ON CARD b 7 R T" SELECT MACHINE FUNCTION M; .C 0N TROL; vENABLE MACHINE Q F LIGHT DISPLAY LIGHTS y sum 02 or 12 PAIENIEMU 29 m4.CONTROL CODES PAIENIEIIIIU 2s IIII GENERAL SYSTEM OPERATION CONTROLFUNCTION LOGIC READ INFO FROM CARD MACHINE CHECK I'HOT CARD" LIST CHECK-DUPLICATE CARD LIST YES ENABLE CODE 1 OPERATOR FUNCTIONS T ,NSERT CARDSECURITY I FUNCTIONS ENTER ID CODE ENTRY KEYBOARD COMPARE KEY ENTRY WITHCARD CODE CAPTURE CARD NO' I UNAUTHORIZED USER I I I I I I I I I I I i I,I I I I I l l I I I I I I I I Iv I fg ES SELECT ENABLE MACHINE CoNTRoLTRANSACTION 4 FUNCTION SELECTION r57 SET UP TRANsACTIoN LOGIC, ENABLE[55 AMOUNT SELECTION SELECT AMOUNT A I TRANsACTIoN ACCOUNTING DIsPENsECASH IF REQUIRED ENABLE ADDITIONAL TRANSACTION sELECTIoN v I I UPDATECARD PRINT RECEIPT RETURN CARD REsET SYSTEM PAIENIEUnms I914 3.845.277

- SHEET 05 0F 12 "HOT-CARD" CHYEGK I SEARCH FILE DATA FROM cARD OF (A Z5000 BAD ACCOUNTS F/FI/V a COMPARE READ CONTROL [#5 coDE FROM FILEHOT-CARD, I YES f/M CAPTURE CARD //7 CREDIT NOT YET ESTABLISHED RETURNCARD N0 fl 14 4 Ly; f

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TRANSFER BANK CODE (X=3538) TO A REG.

SEARCH BANK CODE LIST FOR CODE NOT FOUND W4 WRONG BANK TRANSFEREXPIRATION DATE (X=|9-22) TO A REG.

I! TRANSFER TODAY'S DATE- FROM CALENDER TO B REG.

sum 08 0F 12 CHECK-"HOT-CARD" a SET UPDATE FLAG F REGISTER=O 0/3,

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TRANSFER BILLSREMA NING FROM x=33-34 To A REGISTER ENABLE AMOUNTsELEcToR I AND LIGHT INDICATORS I 34 4 TIMED STOP,-

TRANSFER ENTERED AMOUNT FROM AMOUNT SELECTOR To B REGISTER if LIGHTGREDIT EXCEEDED INDIcATo-R v v No E r I DISFENSE 345 3/7? I "B"-BILLS' ILET UPDATE BILLS REMAINING TRANSFER A REGISTER SCRATCH 33-34 R NSFERREG. x=2e-2S TO A REGISTER TRANSFER USAGE INTERVAL, x: 30 To B REGISTER56 i I I 574 LET A=A+B 25/ 1 UPDATE- f I TRANSFER A REGISTER I Q I TOSCRATCH: 26-29 LET mimmumzsm 3.845277 SHEET 11UF 12 EXIT l5 'ToRE-TRANsAcTIoN I INFORMATION IN i/ v PRINT OUT FILE 7 ,maz

LET c C+l FIvE ENABLE SELECTION OF ANOTHER TRANSACTIONS TRANSACTION,LIGHT DISPLAY PERM ITTED ANOTHER TRANSACTION DESIRED 2Z6 INEED- UPDATE?I WRITE CARD FROM SCRATCH SZORDE X=I4O lgAFlRsg' Pos I Io UPLICATE RDILE, IF .EACH WORD 0F FILE UP ONE L373 POSITION, DROP LAST POSITIONPERFORM INTERNAL ACCOUNTING.

PRINT AND DISPENSE RECEIPT. 4

. CLOSE DOOR.

RETURN CARD.

Iii 3' PA-limwnmzsm 3.8451277 I 8HU.'120F12 CURRENT I CARD I CHECKTRANSFER TODAY'S DATE TO REG. A TRANSFER USAGE INTERVAL, X=3O TO REG 8 I348 A ILET A=A-B| tI'RANSFER NEXT USAGE DATE x=26-29 TO REG El 343CURRENT CA D YES OLD CARD STORE X=I-4O IN FIRST POSITION OF DUPLICATECARD FILE, SHIFT EACH WORD OF FILE UP ONE POSITION, DROP LAST POSITION ITRANSFER CREDIT LIMIT X=3I-32 TO AMT 3 REMAINING X=3334 AND TOSCRATCH=33-34 OFF-LINE CASH DISPENSER AND BANKING SYSTEM The presentinvention relates to automatic banking systems and particularly to suchsystems as off-line cash dispensers. which permit transactions inaccordance with information encoded on cards carried by bank customers.who use the system.

Modern banking'systems have sought to provide automated tellerfacilities which are capable of carrying on the most routine bankingfunctions such as check cashing, deposits, and withdrawals. For theconvenience of customers, these systems have attempted to provide aplurality of automated remote units which are conveniently accessible tocustomers for such purposes. The major problem encountered in thedevelopment of such units is that of providing these units with currentaccount information against which the authorization to performtransactions must be checked. One solution to this problem is to providethat these units be connected through data lines to the banks centraldata processing center where each proposed transaction is automaticallychecked against the bank's data file. The expense and difficulty inproviding such on-line systems is a serious drawback to their effectiveuse and deployment.

The tendency has therefore been toward the use of off-line systems.However, to date the employment of such systems has all been at theexpense of either credit security or convenience to the customersthrough the lack of provision for current updated account information atthese remote off-line units. Many of these proposed units require theuse of customer identifying cards which are deposited in card readers atthese remote units, which cards carry a certain amount of accountinformation. Some of these systems have provided for the updating ofinformation on the cards which information is supposed to reflect insome way the current status of the users accounts. However, the encodingschemes employed have been somewhat less than completely effective inmaintaining sufficiently updated information at the remote off-lineunits and either do not give the customer the complete benefit of hisfull credit limit or leave the bank with much less than optimum securityagainst the overdrawing of accounts and credit limits that it would havehad the transactions been conducted in person by the customer at thebanks central office.

Accordingly, it is a primary objective of the present invention'toprovide an automatic banking system particularly useful with off-linecash dispenser units which can rely on the currency of informationencoded on the customers personal credit cards to allow the customerfull use of his maximum current credit limit. More particularly, it isan objective of the present invention to provide such a banking systemwhich gives the user with a personal card bearing thereon a renewablecredit limit which reflects the results of all of the customerstransactions up to the current transaction.

Accordingly, one aspect of the present invention is predicated on theconcept of assigning to each customer a maximum credit limit againstwhich he may withdraw cash during some specific usage interval. Thismaximum amount, the usage interval, and the amount remaining during theinterval, and the the usage date are encoded upon the users card. As thecustomer withdraws money against his account, the withdrawn amount issubtracted from the remaining amount and the new remaining amount isstored in that field on the users card. When this remaining amount isdecreased to zero, the usage interval is added to the usage date and thenext usage date is encoded upon the card to replace the usage date. Nofurther transactions will be permitted against the users account beforethe next usage date. If the next usage date read is more than the usageinterval old, the usage date is first reset to the calendar date and theamount remaining is reset to the maximum amount.

A further consideration of such automated banking systems is that ofproviding such units with the capability of allowing different types oftransactions for different users. For example, some users may beoperating solely with the use of credit cards, while others may use alsoor instead checking or savings accounts. Such systems should furtherprovide the capability of allowing the user to select the type oftransaction which he desires.

The general problem involved with providing such a capability is thatdifferent customers will have different types of accounts, and the typesof transactions to be permitted will differ from customer to customer.

Accordingly, it is a further objective of the present invention toprovide such a system which will allow the selectability of transactionsbut only in accordance with the types of transactions authorized foreach specific user.

Accordingly, the present invention provides an offline system which iscapable of accepting or performing any one of a number of differenttypes of transactions. The system is further provided with means whichcondition the selection of various types of transactions upon specificauthorization codes which are read from the individual users personalcards. Specifically, each card associated with the system is providedwith a control function code which represents the various types oftransactions or accounts which the specific user is authorized to use.When this information is read into the system, all transactionsinvolving transfers of funds to, from, or between authorized accountswill be enabled so that the user may select any one of, but only among,those authorized transactions.

Another important consideration for automatic banking systems of thistype is to provide a certain amount of security against commonfraudulent transactions. Such fraudulant transactions would include, forexample, the use of stolen credit cards, the use of credit cards bypersons whose credit has been revoked, and the use of counterfeit orduplicate credit cards. Another common and closely related problem whichis particularly found in off-line systems of the type in which theinformation upon the users card is used is that of revising the creditlimits and other fixed data information upon the credit cardsautomatically without having the customer exchange his card with thebank.

Further objectives of the present invention are to overcome theseproblems in ways which maintain maximum security for the bank whilestill not requiring the use of coupling such systems on-line to acentral processing unit.

The present invention provides new and particularly advantageoussolutions to the above problems in one way or another through the use ofthe following features:

One feature of the present invention which accomplishes one of theseobjectives is the provision in the remote units of a memory file whichmay be in the form of a rotating disc or drum. Such memory may haverecorded thereon the account numbers of certain cards or users whoseauthorization has for some reason been cancelled or modified.Specifically, these numbers may be those of stolen credit cards, userswho have abused their credit and whose credit has therefore beenterminated, of users whose credit limits have been reduced or evenincreased since their present cards were issued, or other such factorswhich would influence the authorization of transactions which can beexecuted against the accounts of such users. The system operates tocheck the number of each credit card presented to the remote unitagainst each number recorded in the memory file before any transactionis permitted to be executed against the users account. If the accountnumber is found, an interrogation of a certain code field of the memoryfile is made to determine the reason for the number appearing in thefile. For example, a number may appear in the control code field of thememory file. If the account number represents that of a stolen card orone which is to be voided, a number, such as a zero, in this field willindicate such fact and a command is thereupon executed in the unit whichwill cause the card to be captured and permit no transaction to be madeagainst the account. Another code in this field might indicate that thecredit card is new and that credit has not yet been established, inwhich case transactions may be refused but the credit card will bereturned to the customer. Furthermore, a code may appear which willindicate that the customer has opened a new account or closed an oldaccount or that his credit limit has been either increased or decreasedand the system will thereafter be conditioned to rewrite the customerscard to reflect this change of status.

Another feature which the present invention provides is one which isdesigned to detect the fraudulent practice of a user duplicating hiscredit cards to exceed his credit limit during a given usage interval.To detect such duplicate cards, the system is provided with means forrecording in the memory file an image of each card which is read andagainst which a cash withdrawal is made. These images for a specifiednumber of the most recent transactions are retained in the memory file.Whenever a card is inserted into the machine, this file is interrogatedfor an exact duplicate image. In that each cash transaction will resultin a rewriting or updating of the card, any close correspondence betweenan inserted card and an image in the file will indicate that the card isa duplicate card. When this occurs, this card will be captured and notransaction will be permitted against the account indicated thereon.

Another security feature of the present invention is that of providing amanual code entry which must be made by the user prior to the operationof any of the machine functions. This code entry is made on a keyboardand the code thereby entered is automatically compared with a codecarried by the card for correspondence. This code may be an indirectcode derived from information on the card and transformed in a mannerunknown to the user. This aspect of the system is more completelydescribed in a copending application, Ser. No. 276,028, filed July 28,I972, and invented by William L. Spetz. This application is hereby 4expressly incorporated into this application by reference.

The above features of the present invention provide the importantadvantages of making an entirely off-line system possible which can relyupon current and updated information coded upon the credit cards of theuser to determine the types of transactions which the user is permittedto perform, the limits of the transactions which he can perform in givenperiods of time, and which can provide the bank with security againstoverdrafts and abuses of credit and against many of the most commontypes of fraudulent types of transactions which are encountered withsuch systems.

These features, however, are not limited to use in offline systems. Theyprovide important advantages in online systems also. They can be used inon-Iine systems to minimize tie up of the data lines and the amount ofdata that must be transmitted on the lines. Even in essentiallyreal-time on-line systems, data can be conveyed to buffers and storageunits for interrogation and analysis and thus enhance the time sharingability of the control processing unit.

These and other objectives and advantages of the present invention willbe more readily apparent from the following detailed description of thedrawings which illustrate the preferred forms of the method andapparatus of the present invention in an off-line cash dispenser systemwhich embodies the principles of the present invention:

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the line of credit information which isencoded upon the users card.

FIG. 2 is a diagram representing the code format which appears on theusers card.

FIG. 3 is a general flow diagram of the control function enablingprocedure of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a table of the control function codes carried by the cardsused in the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a table illustrating the permitted transactions for each ofthe possible control function codes of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is an elevational drawing of the panel of a cash dispenser unitembodying the principles of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart diagram illustrating the general :systemoperation of the unit of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a general flow chart diagram of the hot card list checkoperation portion of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a general flow chart diagram of the duplicate card detectionportion of the operation of FIG. 7.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of the controls and logic of the systemassociated with the unit of FIG. 6.

FIG. 11 is a more detailed flow chart representation of the operation ofFIG. 7 illustrating particularly the initial condition set up and checkprocedure.

FIG. 12 is a detailed flow chart diagram of the procedure of FIG. 7 inan illustrating more particularly the hot card and duplicate card listcheck procedures which were isolated in FIGS. 8 and 9.

FIG. 13 is a more detailed flow chart diagram of the procedure of FIG. 7illustrating particularly the authorized user check portion and thefunction selection procedure portion which was isolated in the diagramof FIG. 3.

FIG. 14 is a more detailed flow chart diagram of the procedure of FIG. 7illustrating particularly the procedure involved in execution of cashtransactions.

- FIG. is a more detailed flow chart diagram of the procedure of FIG. 7illustrating more particularly the exit loop and final accounting andreset procedures.

FIG. 16 is a detailed flow chart diagramof the current card checkportion of the procedure of FIG. 7.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF SYSTEM AND OPERATION FIG. 1 illustrates the fourbasic fields of information which are provided to maintain current userline of credit information of his personal card. These fields include adollar amount field 10 which contains generally fixed datarepresentative of the maximum amount of credit permitted during a givenusage interval. The data further includes afield 11 which is encodedwith information indicating the amount of credit remaining during thecurrent usage interval. This information is generally variable, beingreduced by the amount of each cash transaction each time the user makesa withdrawal with his card. The information further includes a fixeddata field 12 which indicates the length of the usage interval fortheparticular holder of the card. The fourth data field 13 includesinformation representing the next usage day. This information isgenerally variable and is revised each time the card holder exhausts hiscredit limit. Specifically, the field 13 contains a numberrepresentative of the calendar day of the year.

If the day upon which the card is used falls before the day appearing inthis field, no transaction will be permitted. If it is more than theusage interval before the current calendar day, it is reset to thecurrent calendar day, and the amount remaining in field 11 is rewrittento the maximum amount in field 10. If the current calendar day'is,however, a day equal to or later than this usage day, transaction willbe permitted up to the amount appearing in the field 11. When the numberin the field ll is reduced to zero, the next usage day appearing infield 13 will be rewritten to correspond to original usage day plus theusage interval field 12. When the card is so rewritten, the amountremaining in field 11 will be rewritten to the maximum limit appearingin the dollar amount field 10. The data represented in the diagram ofFIG. 1 is that for a card holder whose renewable credit card limit is$l00 for a seven-day usage interval.

The precise format of the card of the user is illustrated in FIG. 2.This card is encoded in a IO-character word 20. This word is dividedinto several fields. The first field is one character long and is thestart sentinal field 21 which initiates the reader logic. The secondfield, is the account number field 22 which occupies character positions2l7. This includes an account number which identifies a specific user.The 18th character is a field separator 23. The next field 24 is afourcharacter expiration date field occupying character positions 19-22.The date included in this field is the expiration date of the card andno transactions will be permitted after this date. The account suffixfield includes the 23rd character of the word. This suffix is providedwhen a plurality of cards are issued for a single account, such as whendifferent cards are provided for different members of a given family.The'next field, fields 26, is the controlled code field which occupiescharacter positions 24 and 25. The information encoded in this field isused by the system to enable the authorized transactions which the usermay perform. The next field is the next usage date field l3 referred toin FIG. 1. It occupies character positions 26-29. The next field is theusage interval field 12 referred to in FIG. 1. It occupies onlycharacter position 30 of the word. Character positions 31 and 32 formthe dollar credit limit field 10 of FIG. 1. The number encoded in thisfield represents the dollar amount in terms of the number of ten dollarbills which equal the dollar limit. The amount remaining" field llreferred to in FIG. 1 occupies positions 33 and 34 of the word. Thisamount, too, is encoded in terms of the number of ten dollar bills whichequal the amount remaining. If the particular machine dispenses bills ofother denominations, as for example, twenty dollar bills, the arithmeticlogic of the machine can be programmed .to double the bill count of thetransaction when the card is rewritten or the bill count on the cardcould be standardized to reflect the number of other denomination bills.The next field is the bank code field 27 which occupies bit positions 3538 of the word. This field contains a number which identifies the bankwith which the account is maintained. In that these systems may be usedfor a plurality of banks, and that different systems may be used withdifferent banks, this code field is provided to determine whether or nota card is being presented to a bank which authorizes its accountstransacted through the particular off-line unit. The final two fields 29and 30 of the word relate to character positions 39 and 40 and containmachine operation codes which are of no interest to the presentinvention.

Referring now to FIG. 3, the general flow diagram representing theoperation of the function selection portion of the system isillustrated. This diagram represents first the card read operation 35.In this operation, the data word 20 is read from the card. From thisword, the controlled code digits are extracted and this is representedby step 36 in FIG. 3. The machine automatically performs the operationindicated in step 37 in which the machine will enable specific machinefunctions in accordance with the code extracted by step 36, and theseenabled functions operate lighted pushbutton switches on the displaypanel of the machine so that the user can select the enabled andauthorized transactions which he may perform.

In FIG. 4 is a table which illustrates the numerical codes used toindicate the various types of transactions and accounts available to aparticular user and which codes are those present in field 26 of theword 20. The word 20 is coded in four-bit BCD representations of thedecimal digits. Thus, the codes illustrated in FIG. 4 as sign one bit toeach of the respective permissible accounts and when a bit appears inthat respective position of any one of the customers credit cards, thenthat particular account is available to him. When any one account isauthorized, transactions may be made to and from that account. When morethan one account is authorized, transactions may be made to and fromeither of those accounts or between any two of those accounts.

The total permissible transactions available in the system illustratedare listed across the top of the chart of FIG. 5. The appropriatecontrol codes which are available are listed down the left column of thechart. The marks in the chart adjacent each of the control codesillustrate those transactions which are available when the respectivecode is present on the card.

FIG. 6 represents a view of the panel 40 which is used in a systemaccording to the present invention. The

push-button function selectors 42 which relate to those transactionsillustrated in the chart of FIG. appear near the center of the panel. Ofthese function control buttons, the deposit button 41 is used for eitherloan payment, mortgage payment, or deposit to any account. Such depositsare made through the depository 39 and the final accounting therefor ismade by the bank anddoes not effect information on the credit card. Acash-from-credit-card transaction is executed by use of button43 whilethe cash-from-checking and -savings accounts are executed respectivelyby buttons 44 and 45. Transfers of funds from checking to savings andsavings to checking accounts may be performed by the use of buttons 46and 47 respectively while loans may be paid off to the bank by transferof funds from checking and savings accounts respectively by use ofbuttons 48 and 49. Similarly, mortgage payments may be made fromchecking and savings accounts respectively by use of buttons 51 and 52.

When cash transactions are made, the amount of the transactions may beselected by the use of the transaction amount selector buttons 54. Apair of selector switches 55 are also provided for the user to use inselecting additional transactions after his first transaction iscompleted.

Other devices provided on the panel include a code entry keyboard 57.Numbers entered on the keyboard 57 are displayed on a keyboard display58. Two display panels are provided by which the system communicatesinformation to the customer. These include a message panel 59 whichdisplays various messages usually indicating some irregularity in theattempted transaction and may, for instance, inform the customer to callthe bank or that the bank will call him. A display panel 60 is alsoprovided which communicates informational messages to the customer whichinform him of the next operational step which he is to perform inexecuting his transaction.

Cash transactions will result in the dispensing of cash through a cashdispenser 62. Also, at the end of the transactional cycle, receipts areprinted and dispensed to the customer through a receipt printer outlet63. The functions controls enclosed within the panel section are coveredby a door 65 which is operated by a door control controlled under theoperation of the machine circuitry. The panel also includes the cardreader-writer 68 into which the card is inserted and from whichthe cardis returned updated at the end of the transaction. A card return button70 is also provided for the user to cancel his transaction beforeexecution begins.

The general system operation will be better understood by referencejointly to the panel drawing of FIG. 6 and the general system operationflow diagram of FIG. 7 here to be described.

The functions in FIG. 7 are divided into those functions which areperformed by the user or operator on the panel 40 and those functionswhich are performed automatically by the machine. Initially, door 66 onthe panel is closed covering those controls behind it. The userapproaches the panel and inserts a card through the card reader slot 68as represented by the step 71 in FIG. 7. The machine then reads theinformation from the card as represented by step 72 and then performs afile check of the hot-card list and the duplicate card list, theoperation of which will-be explained in more detail below. This functionis represented by step 73 in FIG. 7. If the card is on the hot-card orduplicate card list, this decision is indicated by a function 74 of FIG.7 and the card is then captured and no transactions are therebypermitted with that card. The card capture is represented by step 75.After the card is captured, the system will reset as represented by step76. If no image of the card is found in either the hot-card or duplicatecard list, the code entry keyboard 57 is enabled, as represented by step79 in FIG. 7, and a message reading enter code" will be displayed on thepanel 60.

The user then enters a secret code on the keyboard 57 as represented bythe step 81 in FIG. 7. When the code is entered, the machine proceeds tocompare this code with a code derived from that information encoded andreadfrom the card. This comparison test is made at 82 in the diagram ofFIG. 7. If an improper code is entered, the use in unauthorized and thecard is returned to the user as represented by step 83 and the system isthen reset according to step 76 of the drawing. If the proper code isentered, the system proceeds to enable certain machine codes as readfrom the card in accordance with that table represented in FIG. 5. Thisenabling function is represented by the step 85 in FIG. 7. The enablingfunction performed in step 85 will illuminate those function selectors42 which correspond to the authorized transactions and a message selecttransaction will be displayed on the panel 60.

The user then depresses one of the illuminated select transactionbuttons as represented by step 86. This selection enables the machine toexecute the selected function as illustrated by step 87 in the diagramand then causes the transaction amount selector buttons 54 to be enabledand illuminated along with a message which reads select amount which isdisplayed on the panel 60. The user then selects the amounts of his cashtransaction if it was a cash transaction which he selected by depressionof the appropriate button of the selector 54. This selection function isrepresented by box 88 in the diagram.

Had the user not selected a cash transaction, but instead a transfertransaction of funds from one account to another or a deposit, he willenter this amount on the keyboard 57 which will have been illuminated byhis selection of such a transaction along with appropriate messageindicating that he should thereby enter the amount on the keyboard 57which informational message will be displayed on the panel 60. Theamount that he does enter on the keyboard 57 will be displayed on thedisplay register 58 and then by depression of the transaction completebutton 69 on panel 57 will cause that transaction to be executed withinthe internal accounting mechanism of the system.

Whatever transaction is selected, the operation will proceed inaccordance with the machine controls as represented by the step 89 inFIG. 7. When the transaction is completed and the cash dispensed, if sorequired, the user is given an opportunity to perform anothertransaction and the additional transaction selection is enabled asrepresented by the step 90 in FIG. 7. This function will display amessage reading select another transaction on the panel and the decisionbuttons 55 will be illuminated for the user to actuate. If anothertransaction is desired, the user selects the appropriate buttom 55 asrepresented by the step 92 in FIG. 7. If the user does select anothertransaction, control will return to the step in FIG. 7. If the userselects no other transaction, the machine willenter the exit functionmode as represented by step 94 in FIG. 7 which will cause the card to beupdated if a cash transaction has been made and will also cause areceipt of all the transactions executed to be printed and then returncontrol to the return card function 83 and then the system resetfunction 76 and the system will thereafter cause the door 65 to beclosed and stand ready for the next customer.

Referring now in more particular detail to the security option of thehot-card list check, this procedure is generally functionally shown inthe flow chart of FIG. 8.-This is one of the functions represented bythe box 73' in FIG. 7. The data from the card is received by acomparison circuit from step 72 and the search of a disc file is therebyexecuted. The card information is compared with that found in eachposition of the disc file. This comparison and search function isrepresented'by the step 101 in FIG. 8. The comparison function checks tosee if the account number of the file matches that account number readfrom the card. If a match is found, then the control code from the wordin the disc file is interrogated as represented by step 103 of FIG. 8.In the specific'example taken, if this control code is zero, it isdetected by decision operation 104. This code indicates that the recordwas placed on the file to indicate that the account number referred tois either of a stolen card or a card of a holder whose credit was to beterminated for some reason, and that the bank should capture or retainthe card. This capture function is executed by the step 105 in FIG. 8.In other instances, a new card holder may be denied use of his card ifclearance has not yet been made by the bank and this account may appearin the hot-card file. The card code double zero, for example, asrepresented by the decision circuit 107 will detect this fact and merelyreturn the card to the customer and cause a message to be displayedindicating he should wait for a certain period of time before using thiscard. This operation is represented by the step 108 in FIG. 8.

If the card was found in the file and if neither of the two operationsabove represented by positions 104 and 107 have been indicated with thepositive result, then, the information will indicate that the cardshould be updated with new information from the disc file. Thisoperation is represented by the step 109 in FIG. 8. After this update,or if no match is found in the file, this system will proceed withnormal transactions (Step 110).

FIG. 9 represents a general functional block diagram of the operationinvolved in the duplicate card detection function represented in step 73of FIG. 7. This is functionally separated from FIG. 8 for illustrationpurposes but may be performed in a common functional operation. Theduplicate card list is generated on the file by recording each cardafter each cash transaction is performed, for example, at step 89 ofFIG. 7. This information from the original card as it was inserted intothe machine is recorded after each transaction as represented by step112 of FIG. 9. The revolving storage file is thereby generatedcontaining images of cards inserted in the last, for example, Itransactions. This is represented by step 113.

The interrogation of the duplicate card file may be made in the samemanner as the hot-card file search. The data read from the card iscompared with the data in the duplicate card file, and when an identicalcopy is found, this is indicated in the step 117 and a card capture iscommanded. Since each card is revised after each cash transaction, theexact match will indicate that the card has been duplicated and thus,its use is not permitted. When no match is found, the system proceedswith normal transactions as indicated by step 120.

DETAILS OF SYSTEM AND OPERATION The following is a detailed descriptionof flow charts representing the operation of the specific embodiment ofthe present invention. This will be, however, better understood when thegeneral elements of the controls of the system are briefly described.These are represented in FIG. 10. The system includes the panel controland items described in connection with FIG. 6 which are the displaypanel 60, the message panel 59, the card reader-writer 68, the codeentry keyboard 57, the keyboard display 58, the function selectorswitches 42, the transactional amount selector switches 54, theadditional transaction selector switches 55, the receipt printer 63, thecash dispenser 62 and a door control 66 v which operates the door 65.Also an internal accounting recorder 122 is provided which performscertain recording and arithmetic operations for the bank record system.The date handling components of the panel 40 have data outputs connectedto a general data buss 125. Also connected to this buss are internalregisters which include a todays date register or calendar 126, a bankdata register or set of register 127, and a disc file which includes thehot-card and duplicate card lists. The contents of the bank dataregister 127 may be stored on the disc file 130. Also, several registersare provided for date handling. These include the scratch pad register131, and X register 132, a Y register 133 and A, B, C, F and I registers134, 135, 136, 137, and 138, respectively. The system is also providedwith, symbolically, a pair of buffer register 141 and 142 having datainputs connected to the data buss 125. These buffers represent storageregisters on which the comparison logic 143 operates to deliverdecisional information along line 144 to the system select and controlunit 145. The system select and control unit 145 has control outputsconnected to each of the above mentioned components and registers of thesystem. The system 145 also controls an address control 147 whichoperates the searching function of the disc file 130. The system selectand control unit 145 operates under the control of a program memory 148which is directly driven by a program counter 149. A stop-start control150 and a timer 151 also deliver information to the system select andcontrol unit 145 for the control thereof. With this general diagrammaticdiscussion of system hardware, the detailed operational flow charts ofFIGS. 11-15 can better be understood.

With reference back to FIG. 10, throughout the discussion of FIGS.1l-l5, the machine operation starts with the energization of the systemas represented by a start command 161 through operation of the startcontrol 150. This causes the execution of certain routine machine checksand the setting of initial conditions, such as the clearing of theregisters, etc. This is represented by step 162 in FIG. 11. When themachine has been set up, the control passes into an idle loop 163 whereit remains until a card is inserted into the slot 68 (FIG. 6). When thiscard is detected in step 164, the card reader 68 is caused to read thecard in step 165 and store the entire data read therefrom in the Xregister 132 at step 166. The customers credit limit is then transferredfrom the positions 31-32 from X register 132 to an A register 134 instep 167. Then, the banks maximum credit limit is transferred from oneof the bank data registers 127 to the B register 135 in step 168. Then acheck is made in step 169 to determine whether or not in fact the limiton the card is a legal limit. If it is not, there is a card error andthe program exits through an exit 170. If the limit is a legallyauthorized limit, the machine proceeds by transferring the bank codefrom positions 35-38 of X register 132, in step 172, to the A register134. Then the bank data registers 127 are searched for the bank codelists to determine whether or not the customer has used the unitassociated with his bank. This is represented by step 173.

If the bank code information is not found, the customer has used thewrong bank and an exit is made through exit 170. If it is found, thetransaction proceeds as normal. This check is represented by step 174 inFIG. 11. This step may also be programmed to permit limited types oftransactions against accounts of associated banks or national creditcards. For example, it may be desirable to permit cash transactionsagainst accounts of out of town banks or national credit cards toaccommodate travelers. If this is the case, the function selection stepsof FIG. 13 will be modified in accordance with the information containedin the bank data registers 127.

The procedure then transfers the expiration date from positions 19-22 ofthe X register 132 to the A register 134 as represented by step 175.Then todays date is transferred from the todays date" register 126 tothe B register 135 in step 176. A decision is then made in step 177whether or not the card has expired. If it has, exit is made throughexit 170, and if it has not, control proceeds to path 12A of FIG. 12.

Referring to FIG. 12, the first step performed is the clearing theupdate flag register F, 137, for reasons which will become apparent fromthe description below. This is done in step 181. The operation thenproceeds with interrogation of the hot-card and duplicate card lists.All of these steps, incidentally, are being actuated by the systemselecting control unit 145 under direction of the program memory 148which in turn is controlled by the program counter 149.

The disc file search is initiated by actuating the address control 147.This is shown in step 182. First, the index register 138 is set to indexthe position 1 in step 183. The, the i-th word is transferred from thedisc file 130 to the Y register 133 in step 184. Then, the accountnumber portion in bit position 2-17 of the X register 132 is transferredto A register 134 and the account number positions 2-17 of Y register113 are transferred to the B register 135. This is done in step 185.Then, the A and B registers are compared in step 186 and, if no match isfound, the I register 138 is tested in step 187 to see if the file hasbeen completely searched and, if not, the I register 138 is incrementedin step 188 and the next i-th word is retrieved from the disc file andcomparison in turn will proceed until the entire file has been scanned.If no match is found, a normal exit will be made through exit 190.

If an account number match is found in the comparison step 186, theindex register 138 is checked in step 191 to determine whether the matchwas found in the hot-card list or the duplicate card list. If in theduplicate card list, the entire contents of the X and Y registers arecompared in step 192 to see if there is a total match and if so, aduplicate card decision is made and the card is captured in step 193. Ifthese are not a complete match, then further checks are made to catchabnormal conditions found only on fraudulent cards. These steps includestep 189 in which a check is made for the abnormal condition in whichthe amount remaining is the same but the next usage date on the card islater than the one in storage. Also in step 194 a check is made for theabnormal condition in which the usage dates are the same but the amountremaining is greater on the card than on the disc, then the search loopproceeds through the decision step 187.

If the match was found in the hot-card list, the first comparision ismade in step 195 to see if the control code field positions 24 and 25 ofthe Y register equal zero. If they do, this indicates a stolen card, forexample, and control proceeds through the card capture step 193.Whereafter control proceeds to exit 197.

If the control code is not zero, it is then checked for a double zerocode in step 198 which indicates that the card has been prematurelyused, in which case, an exit is made through exit 199. If the entrydecision boxes 195 or 198 is affirmative, then the appearance of thematch on the hot-card list indicates that it was put there for purposesfor updating the card of the user. Then, the contents of the Y register133 are transferred to the scratch pad register 131 for future referencein writing the card before it is returned to the customer. This is donein step 200. in step 201, the update flag is set to condition themachine to rewrite the card before it is returned to the user. Afterthis, the system returns to the search loop through decision step 187.

The normal exit from FIG. 12 proceeds to branch 13A of FIG. 13. Now, anappropriate transaction can be made and the doors open uncovering thepanel section 69. This is done in step 204. Then, the coded entrykeyboard 57 is enabled through step 205 and a message is displayed forthe user to enter the proper code. The machine then goes into a timedstop in step 206. The timed stops 206 are controlled by timer 151 and,if an operator decision is not made within a specified time of, forexample, 15 seconds, the machine will make an exit through exit 207.When the operator does enter a code through keyboard 57, as indicated instep 208, this code is compared in step 209 with one derived from thecard which was read. If there is no match, the user is permitted twomore tries through a counting loop 210. If the user fails in, forexample, three tries, the exit 207 is used and the card will be returnedto him. The number of tries allowed is a bank presettable number. If aproper comparison is made, the function selection operation proceedswith the setting of the count register 136 to zero in step 212. Thesystem can also be programmed to allow only a limited set of failures bythe user in arriving at the user code. This is desirable so that a usercannot attempt an infinite number of tries as he might with a stolencard. This can be done by marking the card when the card is returned forthis reason. The marking may be done by replacing, for example, theaccount suffix digit on the card with an unused number. When the mark isdetected in a subsequent failure to enter the card, the card iscaptured.

Function selection begins with the transfer of the ma chine code as readfrom the card and as stored in posiaction on the display panel 60. Themachine then goes into a timed stop in step 215. When a code functionselection is made, it is stored in the B register 134 in step 216. Thenthe A and B registers are compared in step 217 to see if a proper choicehas been made. If not, control returns to the timed stop 215.

When the choice is made, a test is made in step 218 to determine whetherthe control in the B register is fund transfer. If, it is, the keyboard57 is enabled for entry of the amount in step 219. The machine thenproceeds to a time stop in step 220. When the amount has been entered(step 221) on keyboard 57 and displayed in the display 58 providedtherefore, the machine exits through exit 223.

If the code in B is not a fund transfer, it is tested to determinewhether or not it is'a deposit in step 225. If it is a deposit, controlpasses again to step 219. If neither tests 218 nor 225 are affirmative,then the selection is a cash transaction and control passes to branch16A in FIG. 16.

In FIG. 16 a check is made to determine whether or not the card insertedis a current card, that is, whether or not an entire usage interval haselapsed since the card was last used. Frequently, a customer may use hiscard to withdraw cash in an amount less than the total amount permittedduring a usage interval, and then not make another cash transaction forsome time. In such a case, his card would not be normally updated untilthe amount remaining has reached zero, in which case he would not reusehis card to withdraw cash until a usage interval has elapsed again. Toovercome this condition, the usage date is checked here, and if it ismore than the usage interval old, his entire amount is restored and theusage date is set to the current calendar date, thus providing anew-effective cash transaction limit and next usage date.

This is done by transferring the calendar date from register 126 to theA register 134 and the usage interval from the card, as stored inposition X230 of X register 132, to the B register 135, in step 301. TheB register 135 is then subtracted from the A register 134 in step 302,and the next usage date is transferred from positions 26-29 of Xregister 132 to the B register 135, in step 303. Then the A register 134and B register 135 are compared in step; 304. If the card, is current,the procedure proceeds to branch 14A and FIG. 14. If the card is notcurrent, the card image in X register 132 is stored in the duplicatecard list of the disc file 130. As will be seen when FIG. 15 isdescribed below, a cash transaction involving a non-current card resultsin two images being stored in the duplicate card list, one being that ofthe non-current information, and the other being that of revised cardbefore the execution of the transaction, that is, which contains theeffective usage date and current remaining information. If this were notdone, and only the non-current card image stored, a person couldduplicate cards and use them, one at a time, at wide intervals, thusobtaining a supply of different appearing cards. Then he could waituntil all cards are non-current, and use them all on the same day,exceeding hiscredit limit, without an image being found in the duplicatecard file. If only the effective image were stored, duplicatenon-current cards would not be detected. By storing both images, thisfraudulent con duct would be detected. Thus, the extra storage step 306is necessary.

The provision for the effective next usage date is accomplished by step307 in which todays day is transferred from register 126 to positions26-29 of the X register 132 to provide the effective usage date, andalso to positions 26-29 of the scratch pad 131 for rewriting of the cardif the amount limit is not exhausted. Similarly, the maximum creditlimit is transferred from positions 31-32 of the X register 132 to theamount remaining positions 33-34 of the X register 132 and the scratchpad 131, in step 308. When the flag register 137 is set to one in step309 to indicate that the card must be rewritten. Control then proceedsto branch 14A and FIG. 14.

In FIG. 14, for a cash transaction, first, the next usage dateinformation is transferred from positions 26-29 of the X register 132 toA register 134. Then todays date is transferred to the B register 135from todays register 126. These transfers are done in steps 231 and 232respectively. Then, a check is made to determine whether the next usagedate is later than todays date in decision step 233. If it is, a creditexceeded indicator light is lit on the message panel 59 at step 234 andexit is made through exit 235. If the next usage date is equal to orless than todays date, the bills remaining information from positions 33and 34 of X register 132 are transferred to A register 134 in step 237.Then the contents of the A register are interrogated in step 238 todetermine whether any amount remains. If the amount is zero, the creditexceeded indicator light is lit as control returns to step 234 and exitis made through branch 235. If credit still remains, the amount selectorswitch 54 are enabled and the message select amount is displayed on thepanel 50 in step 239. Then a timed stop is executed in step 240. Then,when an amount is entered through switches 54, the amount selected istransferred to the B register 134 in step 242. Then the A and Bregisters are compared and if the B register is greater than the Aregister, decision step 243 limits the credit to only the amountremaining and lights the credit extended indicator light on panel 59through steps 244 and 245. Then, the system proceeds to dispense theselected number of bills through the bill dispenser 62 in step 247.Then, the number of bills dispensed is subtracted from the amountremaining in the A register step 248. This remainder is transferred tothe scratch pad 131 for later writing and updating the card. This isdone-in step 249. Then, remaining amount in the A register is checked instep 250. If the amount is not zero, then the update flag from register137 is set in step 251 and an exit is made through exit 254.

If the bills remaining amount has been reduced to zero as detected bydecision 250, the usage date is transferred from positions 26-29 of Xregister 132 to the A register and the usage interval is transferredfrom the 30th position of the X register 132 to the B register 135. Thisis done in step 256. Then, the contents of the A and B registers areadded and the total representing the next usage date to be written onthe card, is transferred to positions 26-29 of the scratch pad 131 forlater writing on the card before it is returned to the customer. This isdone in steps 257 and 258 after which the flag is set as control passesthrough step 251 to exit 254.

1. An automatic banking system for serving a plurality of users and comprising: a device capable of accounting for different transactions involving a plurality of different accounts of a given one of said users, said transactions including debiting an account, crediting an account, and/or transferring funds between different accounts of said one user; means for selecting different transactions involving different ones of said accounts of a given one of said users; means for accepting from said one of said users information associated with said one user correlated to one or more of said transactions involving different accounts to which said one user is entitled, said information accepting means including a card reader for reading said information from a coded card; and means for enabling said selecting means to effect transactions involving different accounts selected by said user in accordance with said user associated information.
 2. The system of claim 1 wherein: said cards are encoded with information representing the different accounts of said given user and with information representing the status of at least one of said different accounts; and said system further comprises means for updating said status information in accordance with the performed transactions.
 3. The system of claim 2 further comprising: means for selecting the dollar amount of said selected transaction; said card status information including encoded information indicating a transaction amount limit permitted in a given usage interval; and means for limiting the amount of said transactIons to the amount limit encoded on said card.
 4. The system of claim 3 further comprising: means for revising said permitted amount limit information in accordance with the amount of the selected transaction.
 5. The system of claim 4 further comprising: means for resetting said permitted amount limit information on said card to correlate to a maximum permitted value when said given usage interval has expired.
 6. The system of claim 1 wherein: said cards are encoded with information relating to the identification of an authorized user, said system includes manual code entry means; and the operation of said system is conditioned on the results of a comparison between the information from said card and said code entry means.
 7. The system of claim 1 further comprising: a memory unit containing a plurality of segments each containing information relating to the accounts of certain users; means for comparing said information accepted with that contained in said segments; means for modifying the operation of said system when the results of said comparison indicate that said information relates to that of one of said certain users, and means for revising said cards of said certain users in accordance with information stored in said memory.
 8. The system of claim 1 further comprising: a memory unit containing a plurality of segments each containing information relating to the accounts of certain users; means for comparing said information accepted with that contained in said segments; means for modifying the operation of said system when the results of said comparison indicate that said information relates to that of one of said certain users, and means for capturing said card of said certain users.
 9. The system of claim 1 further comprising a duplicate card detector including means for storing in said memory the images of a predetermined number of the cards last used in said system, means for comparing a presented card with said stored images to detect a duplicate card, and means for altering the operation of said accounting device in response to detection of said duplicate card.
 10. A cash dispensing system comprising: a card reader; a plurality of cards encoded with a. information corresponding to the maximum transactional amount permitted to be dispensed during a given usage interval; b. information representing the length of said given usage interval; c. information representing the next permitted usage date; and d. information representing the current transaction amount limit of the current usage interval; and said system further comprising a. a cash dispenser; b. means for enabling said cash dispenser to dispense cash only when the current date is at least equal to said next usage date read from said card; c. means dispensing a selected amount of cash up to said current transaction limit; d. means for revising said current transaction limit by subtracting therefrom the amount of cash dispensed, and e. means for revising said next permitted usage date by adding thereto at least said usage interval and for replacing said current transaction limit with said maximum transactional amount when said limit equals zero as a result of said transaction.
 11. An automatic banking system for serving a plurality of users comprising a card reader for reading information from a coded card; a cash dispenser; means for operating said cash dispenser to perform a cash dispensing transaction in association with the reading of said card; means for changing the data encoded on said card upon the execution of said transaction; a memory for storing the information read from said card during said cash transaction; means for searching said memory, after the reading of a card and prior to the execution of said transaction, and for disabling said operating means upon the finding of a correspondence Between the data read from the card and that stored in said memory.
 12. The system of claim 11 wherein: said memory is operative to store the information read from cards during a predetermined number of transactions immediately preceding the current transaction.
 13. An automatic banking system for serving a plurality of users comprising: a card reader for reading user identifying information and account information from a coded card; a memory having stored therein information identifying a plurality of users and in association with said user identifying information additional information indicating that said account information on cards is to be revised in accordance with said additional information stored in said memory; and said system includes means for storing the information on the card read in accordance with the additional information in said memory existing at the time said card was read, when the account identifying information read from said card corresponds to information in said memory identifying an account with respect to which the additional information associated therewith is to be revised.
 14. An automatic banking system for serving a plurality of users comprising: a card reader for reading information from a coded card; means for performing a banking transaction in accordance with a selected amount, which amount is limited by the information read from said card; the information encoded on said card including: a. information relating to the maximum transactional amount permitted during a given usage interval, b. information relating to the permitted amount remaining during the current usage interval, and c. information relating to the commencement date of said current usage interval; and means for revising the information on said card to increase said remaining amount toward said maximum amount while altering said commencement date.
 15. The system of claim 14 wherein: the information on said card further comprises information relating to the length of said usage interval, and said commencement date represents the next permitted usage date; and said revising means is operative to alter said next permitted usage date to at least equal the current usage date plus said usage interval.
 16. The system of claim 15 wherein: said transaction performing means includes a cash dispenser operative to dispense cash in accordance with said selected amount; said system further comprises means for further revising said remaining amount information by subtracting therefrom the selected amount of said transaction; and said first recited revising means being operative when said remaining amount equals zero.
 17. The system of claim 14 further comprising: means deriving an effective commencement date equal to the current calendar date and an effective amount remaining equal to said maximum amount when said commencement date read from said card is more than the given usage interval before the current calendar date.
 18. A method for accounting for transactions involving a plurality of different accounts of a given one of a plurality of users, said transactions including debiting, crediting, and/or transferring funds between different accounts of said user, comprising the steps of: accepting information from one of said users associated with said one of said users correlated to one or more of said transactions involving different accounts to which said one user is entitled, said information accepting step including reading a card coded with information representing the accounts of said one user and the status of at least one of said accounts; enabling selecting means to permit selection of transactions by said one user involving different accounts in accordance with the information accepted from said one user; activating said enabled selecting means to effect transactions involving different ones of said accounts of said one user; and updating the statUs of at least one of said one user''s accounts to reflect said effected transaction.
 19. The method of claim 18 wherein: said encoded status information on said card includes information indicating a transaction amount limit permitted in a given usage interval; and said method further includes selected the dollar amount of said selected transaction and performing said transaction in an amount not greater than said permitted amount limit encoded on said card.
 20. The method of claim 19 further comprising the step of: revising said permitted amount limit information on said card in accordance with the selected amount of the selected transaction.
 21. The method of claim 20 further comprising the step of: resetting said permitted amount limit information on said card to a maximum permitted value when said given usage interval has expired.
 22. The method of claim 18 wherein: said status information encoded on said cards includes a. information corresponding to the maximum transactional amount permitted during a given usage interval; b. information representing the length of said given usage interval; c. information representing the next permitted usage date; and d. information representing the transactional amount limit of the current usage interval; and said method further comprises the steps of: a. dispensing a selected amount of cash up to said transaction limit, but only when the current calendar date is at least equal to said next usage date encoded on said card; b. revising said transaction limit on said card by subtracting therefrom the amount of cash dispensed; and c. revising said next permitted usage date on said card by adding thereto at least said usage interval and replacing said transaction limit on said card with said maximum transactional amount when said limit equals zero as a result of said transaction.
 23. The method of claim 18 wherein: said cards are encoded with information relating to the identification of an authorized user, said method further includes the step of manually generating a user code, comparing information from said card with said manually generated code, and conditioning the execution of a transaction on the results of said comparison.
 24. A method of claim 18 further comprising the steps of: searching a memory unit containing a plurality of segments each containing information relating to the accounts of certain users to retrieve said information therefrom; comparing said information accepted with that retrieved from said segments; modifying the execution of said transaction when the results of said comparison indicate that said accepted information relates to that of one of said certain users.
 25. The method of claim 24 wherein: said information accepting step includes the reading of information from a coded card; and said method further comprises the step of revising said cards of said certain users in accordance with information stored in said memory.
 26. The method of claim 24 wherein: said information accepting step includes the reading of information from a coded card; and said method further comprises the step of capturing said card of said certain users.
 27. A method for performing banking transactions of a plurality of users comprising the steps of: reading information from a coded card; searching a memory in which information read from cards during previous cash transactions are stored; performing a cash dispensing transaction but only when the information read from said card and that stored in said memory do not compare; and changing the data encoded on said card upon the execution of said transaction.
 28. A method for performing banking transactions of a plurality of users comprising the steps of: reading a card having user identifying information and account information encoded thereon; searching a memory in accordance with the reading of Said card, said memory having stored therein information identifying a plurality of users and in association with said user identifying information additional information relating to some of said plurality of accounts, which additional information indicates that information on cards relating to said accounts is to be revised in accordance with information stored in said memory; and said method further includes the step of revising the information on the card read in accordance with the additional information on said memory, when the user-identifying information read from said card corresponds to information in said memory identifying a user with respect to which the account information associated therewith is to be revised.
 29. A method for performing banking transactions of a plurality of users comprising the steps of reading information from a coded card, which information includes: a. information relating to the maximum transactional amount permitted during a given usage interval, b. information relating to the permitted amount remaining during the current usage interval, and c. information relating to the commencement date of said current usage interval; performing a banking transaction in accordance with a selected amount, which amount is limited by the information read from said card; and revising the information on said card to increase said remaining amount information encoded thereon toward said maximum amount while altering said commencement date encoded on said card.
 30. The method of claim 29 wherein: the information on said card further comprises information relating to the length of said usage interval, and said commencement date represents the next permitted usage date; and said method further includes the step of revising said next permitted usage date on said card to equal at least the original usage date thereon plus said usage interval.
 31. The method of claim 30 wherein: said transaction performing step includes the step of dispensing cash in accordance with said selected amount; said method further comprises the step of revising said remaining amount information by subtracting therefrom the selected amount of said transaction; and said first-recited revising step is performed when said remaining amount equals zero.
 32. The method of claim 30 further comprising the step of: deriving an effective commencment date equal to the current calendar date and an effective amount remaining equal to said maximum amount when said commencement date read from said card represents a date which is more than the given usage interval before the current calendar date.
 33. An automatic banking system for serving a plurality of users each having a card with an account number thereon, a device capable of accounting for transactions involving a plurality of accounts of a given one of said users, means for selecting different transactions involving different ones of said accounts, a card reader for reading said account number from the card of said one of said users, a memory accessible in response to reading said account number containing information relating to the different account transactions permissible to said one user, and means responsive to said information provided by said memory for enabling said selecting means to effect said selected account transactions in accordance with said information.
 34. An automatic banking system comprising: a plurality of user cards encoded with an account number unique to each user and at least one control code correlated to at least one account of said user with respect to which transactions are permissible to said user, said control codes being common to different users; a device capable of accounting for transactions involving a plurality of different accounts of a given one of said users, said transactions including debiting, crediting and/or transferring funds between different accounts of said one user; means operable by said one user for selecting different transactions involving different ones of said accounts of said one user; a card reader for reading said account number and said control code from said card of said one user; and means for enabling said selecting means to effect said selected account transactions in dependence upon the control code read from said card of said one user.
 35. An automatic banking system comprising: a plurality of user cards encoded with an account number unique to each user and at least one control code correlated to at least one account of a plurality of different types of accounts to which a single user may be permitted usage, a device capable of accounting for transactions involving said plurality of different accounts to which a single user may be permitted usage, means operable by said one user for selecting transactions involving different ones of said accounts to which a single user may be permitted usage, a card reader for reading said account number and said control code from said card of said one user, said reading of said control code of said one user reflecting said at least one account of said one user for which usage is permitted, and means for enabling said selecting means to effect said selected account transactions in dependence upon the control code read from said card of said one user.
 36. Apparatus for performing banking transactions of a plurality of users comprising: a plurality of user cards, each encoded with user-identifying information unique to each user and account information correlated to transactions to which said user is permitted, a reader for reading said user identifying information encoded on said cards, a memory having stored therein information identifying a plurality of users and, in association with said user-identifying information, additional information indicating that said account information encoded on the cards of said plurality of users is to be revised in accordance with said additional information stored in said memory; and means for revising the account information on a card which has been read in accordance with said additional information in said memory, when the user identifying information read from said card corresponds to information in said memory identifying a user with respect to which the account information associated therewith is to be revised.
 37. The apparatus of claim 36 further comprising: a device capable of accounting for different types of transactions to which a single user may be permitted usage, means operable by said one user for selecting transactions to which a single user may be permitted usage, and means for enabling said selecting means to effect said selected transactions in dependence on the control code read from said card of said one user.
 38. An automatic banking system comprising: a plurality of user cards encoded with an account number unique to each user and at least one control code correlated to at least one type of fund transfer between different accounts which a single user may be permitted to make, said control codes being common to different users; a device capable of accounting for transactions involving a plurality of different types of inter-account fund transfers; means operable by said one user for selecting different types of inter-account fund transfers; a card reader for reading said account number and said control code from said card of said one user; and means for enabling said selecting means to effect said selected account transaction in dependence upon the control code read from said card of said one user.
 39. The system of claim 14 wherein said commencement date information includes data relating to the length of said usage interval and data relating to a specified date included within said current usage interval, and wherein said revising means is operative to alter said specified date by an amount at least equal to said usAge interval.
 40. The system of claim 39 wherein said revising means alters said specified date when said information related to the permitted amount remaining has reached a predetermined value. 